Paul Jones - Bob Dalsemer - Maryland Line 1

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At the Dare To Be Square dance weekend, Bob Dalsemer led a workshop on "Dances of Maryland Line," a small town in northern Maryland that he visited often in the 1970s. Attentive viewers will note the distinctive style of promenade, a one-step around the square that was typical of Maryland Line dances.

The Paul Jones is a traditional dance mixer, done at Maryland Line as the first dance of the evening and every five or so dances after that. Couples promenade by dancing a one-step, and when the caller blows a whistle, they join hands in a big circle-- here, always to the right. Another whistle blow signals the start of a grand right and left around the circle, and another starts the cycle again, this time with a different partner. "Lost and found is in the center of the hall." Many variations of the Paul Jones circle mixer can be found in both folk and ballroom dance.

This session was recorded on November 19, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, with additional support provided by Country Dance and Song Society. (Among other things, CDSS paid for the videography, by John-Michael Seng-Wheeler.)

Musicians for this session were: Larry Edelman and Steve Hickman, fiddles; Jim Morrison, guitar; Claudio Buchwald, piano; Sam Bartlett, banjo, joined on some numbers by Phil Jamison on banjo. The tune is "Rose of San Antone."

The event brought together six well-known callers and 70 square dance enthusiasts to explore many different styles of squares, including both traditional and modern.